“Reminds me of a lighter Laoshan black from Verdant. Since I mostly stay away from roastier oolongs, the coffee/malt flavors are a surprise to me. Still, it’s a smooth, comforting cup, and...”
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“First off, the aroma of the dry leaf is amazing. Roasty, nutty, caramel, and yes – roasted corn like the tasting notes on the website indicate. Wet leaf aroma adds a bit of smoke. As the...”
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“First Sip Thought: "Squash."
Smell: Before I enjoyed the slightly roasty and floral aroma, I admired the leaves for quite some time. They are dark and tightly rolled which of course makes...”
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From Eco-Cha Artisan Teas

Flavor: Roasted chicory, chestnuts, nutty, smoky, dried fruit.

Garden: This batch of tea comes from Yong Long Village, just above Dong Ding Mountain. Yong Long is known for a rich red soil which differs from other locales in Lu Gu Township. The unique flavor of the Dong Ding Oolong produced here is attributed to this soil quality, along with the fact this region is home to the most concentrated population of the most skilled oolong tea artisans in Taiwan.

14 Tasting Notes

I am so impressed by Eco-Cha. Their packaging is gorgeous, and their teas are superb. This Dong Ding has a delicious “coffee” like flavor to it. Delicious, toasty, chestnut-y, sweet. I got quite a few infusions out of this one too … and each delivered a lovely flavor.

The first cup (infusions 1 and 2) gave me a hint of raisin-y sweetness that I really enjoyed, plus the aforementioned coffee and chestnut flavors.

The second cup was a stronger raisin note, which made this cup taste even sweeter than the first. Still nutty, toasty, smoky and warm tasting.

The third cup became a little softer in taste and texture but was still very flavorful.

Reminds me of a lighter Laoshan black from Verdant. Since I mostly stay away from roastier oolongs, the coffee/malt flavors are a surprise to me. Still, it’s a smooth, comforting cup, and very satisfying. I’m a fan, even if I’m not exactly the target audience.

First off, the aroma of the dry leaf is amazing. Roasty, nutty, caramel, and yes – roasted corn like the tasting notes on the website indicate. Wet leaf aroma adds a bit of smoke. As the leaves open I notice lots of stems (again, good? bad? don’t know). Decided to brew this gongfu, starting with 30 second steeps. The next time I need to remember to follow the brewing tips and use 6-8 grams of tea, or brew grandpa style because my first steep wasn’t that great (user error – not enough tea). Anyway, longer steeps (a minute) were better. The flavor is nutty, roasty, and sweet and the aftertaste lingers on the tongue. So different from the un-roasted/lightly roasted and more floral dong dings I’ve had. I’m looking forward to trying this grandpa style, I think this tea is probably more suited to that style, for me anyway. I love a dark, robust oolong and this is definitely one of those. It’ll be great in the cold winter months.

Smell: Before I enjoyed the slightly roasty and floral aroma, I admired the leaves for quite some time. They are dark and tightly rolled which of course makes it more fun to watch steep.

Taste: You may remember when I wrote about Eco-Cha and their mission late last year. You can view that post here. This tea was hand picked in small batches September 2014 in Yong Long, Nantou, Taiwan (just above Dong Ding Mountain). Hand picked. When you drink this tea, stop and think about that for a moment. You’ll appreciate your cup a lot more. This oolong is not as strong as I was hoping but still offers great flavours. To explain my first sip thought, the initial few sips taste just like a plate full of freshly roasted vegetables. Eco-Cha narrows it down to a roasted summer squash as the predominant flavour and I have to agree. I also noticed a dry fruit flavour along with nutty characters. So I guess you can also say another thought that came to my mind during the first sip was “trail mix!” This tea has me very excited to give the rest of the oolongs I have from Eco-Cha a try.

Though roasted, this tea is still light. The aroma is of roasted corn, nuts, and leaves—perfect for the first crisp day of Autumn. Sipping on the tea after brewing, I get a strong taste of barley, but it isn’t strong enough to be off-putting. This would be great brewed as an iced tea with some honey, or brewed extra strong since the flavor was a bit watery for me.

Flavors: Autumn Leaf Pile, Roasted Barley, Roasted nuts

Preparation

Ooh! This roasted Dong Ding starts out with this wonderful mild roasted nutty flavor like a Houjicha, but then it opens up to the dried fruit and honey like qualities of Dong Ding, with so much lingering sweetness. For a roasted tea, this one tastes very clean and leaves a nice clean feeling in the mouth and a tingly minty kind of freshness.

On the second steeping the roasted flavor has died off quite a bit revealing more of the sweet, nectar-like qualities of the tea. The more steepings in you go, the more creamy and mellow it gets, and the more it gives way to subtle floral, fruit and honey notes. This is a wonderful oolong for enjoying gongfu style to see how the many infusions change.

Flavors: Dried Fruit, Floral, Honey, Nutty, Raisins, Roasted

Preparation

This Spring 2013 oolong hails from Dong Ding Mountain. It is not high altitude (1000ft), but the terrain is steep and often covered with fog. The soil is incredibly rich. In addition, this region is home to the most concentrated population of the most skilled oolong tea artisans in Taiwan.
The tea is hand-picked in small batches.
The dry leaf looks amazing – tiny coils that resemble snails – and the scent is wood and spring shrub or vegetative, plus some smokiness.
The taste is mellow, sweet syrupy, chestnut notes with slight raisin and smoked notes. There is a definite English floral note that lingers. It could be hyacinth (green, sweet, floral). There is minimal astringency, no dryness.
The second infusion delivered a sweeter flavor – time for those raisin notes to shine.
Overall, it delivers a complex taste – as well as many cups (up to four infusions last count).

Preparation

I got this tea a little while ago when Eco-Cha had some good discounts on their older teas. This one was harvested in Spring 2013 so it is roughly a year old.

The age, I think, doesn’t matter, because this oolong is heavenly. Extremely fragrant (as much as I love fragrant teas, I don’t think I could drink this one when having a headache!), smelling like the purest, freshest, off-the-comb honey that was gathered from orchids and fruit blossoms. It tastes very sweet with a tiny amount of roastiness that balances the sweet notes out. The second resteep was even bolder in roasty notes (but they were still really mild) and also brought some vegetal notes.

This has everything I look for in an oolong. Because of its age, and because I have relatively a lot of it, I am going to make this one my evening staple… And I don’t know, but if it’s even better when it’s fresher, perhaps I am glad I got the older one :D So I don’t get too excited over it :D